A Year on Earth
by 1nigo
Summary: A year under the ocean was almost enough to shake Lapis' resolve. A year in the woods was almost enough to leave Peridot hopeless. A year without contact was almost enough for Yellow Diamond to investigate. HIATUS.
1. Malachite, or One Year Later

Jasper screamed as Malachite was dragged under. A soundless scream, the action didn't even reach Malachite's lips. Of course it couldn't, Jasper thought as she felt Lapis' sheer willpower force her farther into submission. How did this happen? This was supposed to be a simple mission. When the orange Gem saw how weak Rose had become, she thought it would be even easier. It's all the fault of that damned fusion. So Jasper called out to Lapis, a Gem who hated Earth and the Crystal Gems as much as she did. But something went wrong. Lapis didn't fight against the Crystal Gems, instead she damned herself to the bottom of the ocean.

"Why are you doing this?!" Jasper cried out angrily as the light began to fade away. "They kept you trapped here for thousands of years, why would you help them?"

"Because," Lapis replied, "because I made a friend."

"A friend?" Jasper's anger finally was enough to provide the slightest control over Malachite. But not even four bubbles escaped the fusion's lips before Lapis suppressed Jasper once more. "How the hell did you make a friend?"

"He cared about me..." Lapis said wistfully, "Even before he knew who I was he reached out to me. He freed me without hesitation. And then I tried to hurt him. This is how I make amends. Besides," she gave a dry laugh, "Did you not keep me prisoner, too? At least with the Crystal Gems I wasn't tortured." With a thud, Malachite came to rest on the ocean floor.

"That's your excuse?! Just wait until Homeworld hears about this, you're dead! Along with the Crystal Gems. You're all traitors!" Jasper's attempt to unfuse was stopped by Lapis, she was no longer surprised.

"Homeworld will never hear about this," Lapis said, "even if they come here, they won't find us. This is where we stay until the day this planet dies. And we'll die with it." And with that, Malachite's chains dragged her flat against the sea floor.

_[One Year Later - Steven]_

Steven sat on the beach, like most days. Connie was sitting across from him and talking about the book she was reading. "...So then he grabbed this mirror off the ground and used it to help him cut the monster's head off! And then..." she trailed off, noticing Steven didn't seem to be paying attention. "Steven, are you alright?"

"What? Oh yeah, sorry Connie!" He laughed it off. "What were you saying? About monsters and the garden gnome shop?"

"Is something bothering you?" she asked, following his glance to the ocean. "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Yeah, of course!" Steven gave her a grin which soon faltered. "It's just... it's been a year and I still have no idea how to free Lapis. She must be so alone down there with no one but Jasper..."

"Well," Connie looked at the ocean. "If anyone can save her, it's Steven Universe."

Steven laughed.

At that moment, Steven heard the warp pad activate inside the temple. "Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are back!" He stood up and ran to the temple.

"I have to go home, I'll catch you later!" Connie called after him. He turned and waved goodbye.

"...What are we going to do with her?" Steven heard Pearl saying.

"I don't know," Garnet replied, "but we can't let her get out."

"Just throw her in the lava pit in the Burning Room!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"Hey guys!" Steven ran in. "What do you have?" He looked onto the table they were gathered around. On it was a triangular gemstone and, "Wait, is that... Peridot?"

Pearl looked to Garnet, who nodded. "Yes."

"But..." Steven looked to the gemstone, then to Garnet. "Why is she here?"

"Well, we've been searching for her for the past year," Pearl explained, "And today there was the sound of some old Gem equipment from the war being set off and went to investigate when we found her. We think that, while coming here, she accidentally set it off and got hurt."

"Hmm.." Steven picked up Peridot's gem, which Garnet took back and put it down. "What are you going to do with her?"

"We don't know." Garnet answered.

"I still say just get rid of her while we can! Just destroy her gemstone and there! Problem solved!" Amethyst insisted.

"Well..." Pearl considered this for a moment.

"Wait!" Steven yelled, "We can't do that! What if there's some good in her?"

Pearl sighed. "Steven, Peridot can't be good. Trust me, Homeworld isn't a good place. Gems there can't be good."

"But you're good, and you're from there."

"That's not the point. We can't just wait and hope that Peridot will rehabilita-" Pearl was interrupted.

"Steven, do you really want to try to change her?" Garnet looked down at him. He nodded in confirmation. "Alright. We'll let you try your way for a while. But if this doesn't work, we're going to have to bubble her." Steven nodded again. "Alright, that's that." And she headed into the temple with Peridot.

"We're really going through with this?" Amethyst asked herself before heading into the temple.

"Steven..." Pearl looked at him. "I really don't think this is a good idea. Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Yeah, of course!" Steven nodded. "Besides, Peridot doesn't even know anything about Earth. She just needs to learn how great it is and she won't want to destroy it!"

She nodded and sighed, smiling softly. "You sound just like your mother sometimes." She exited into the temple.

* * *

At the bottom of the ocean, a shift was taking place inside Malachite. As the consciousnesses that made her up melded more every day, the only thing keeping her chained to the sea was the last shreds of willpower remaining from what was once Lapis Lazuli. But now, Jasper's one goal and Lapis' one true need gave Malachite one desire.

Malachite wanted to be free.


	2. Prison, or Regeneration

**AN: Sorry this took so long! Enjoy!**

"We're not really going to keep her in the Temple, right?" Pearl asked. The three Gems stood in one of the Temple's empty rooms, similar to the one they created Steven's test in. "What happens if she gets out?"

"We force her back into her gem and bubble her." Garnet replied, creating a cell in the middle of the room.

"That's the plan?" Amethyst asked, "Just hope we can catch her if she gets out? Just hurry up and bubble her now!"

"No. Steven wants to do this, we should give him a chance. One of us will be with him whenever he's in here. Besides, we need to know why Homeworld is coming back." Garnet put Peridot's gem inside the cell. Using what little information they were able to gather from the crashed warship, Garnet was able to put a destabilizing field over the cell door.

"It's too dangerous!" Pearl insisted. "What if she somehow gets out while we're on a misson?"

Garnet's answer was simple. "She won't." She activated the field and turned around, leaving the room.

"...I get the Super Chicken. What does that mean?" Connie read the card in her hand.

"Oh Connie, that's great!" Steven grinned. "You get to advance to the Poultry Plaza!" He picked up her piece and moved it to another spot on the board. "My turn-" Steven was interrupted by the sound of the Temple door opening. "Hey Garnet! Wanna play?"

"No," Garnet looked at him. "We're going to try to find out how Peridot got so injured. You stay here."

"Aww, but I want to come!" Steven groaned.

"It's too dangerous!" Pearl stepped out of the still-open door. "We have no idea what's there."

"Aww, fine." Steven crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be suuuper boring anyway." The door closed behind Amethyst. "Probably won't even be any monsters."

"Hey, you guys want to play when you get back?" Steven asked them.

"Yes." Garnet nodded, to Steven's joy. The three of them warped away and Steven turned back to the game.

"Ok, my turn?" Steven picked up the card. "Aw no! My french fries were stolen by a hungry raccoon! Go back 4 spaces."

"Is that really what it says?" Connie took the card. "What kind of game is this?"

"It's Kitchen Calamity! Your turn!" Steven moved his piece back.

Connie rolled her eyes and picked up her card. "You are given an offer by a wealthy chef. Roll the dice to determine the outcome..." Connie picked up the dice and started shaking them.

"No, wait!" Steven stopped her. "You have to put them in the blender." Connie rolled her eyes and smiled, putting the dice in the fake blender and rolling them.

"Snake eyes!" Steven jumped up. "That means you win!" He moved her piece to the win space. "Great job!"

"Um, thanks?" Connie scratched her head. "I'm not sure what just happened, but ok."

Steven started putting things away. Connie helped. "The ocean sure is active today," Connie said, looking out the window. Steven also looked.

"Huh, that's strange. There's no clouds..." Steven went outside to get a better look. The ocean's waves were higher than normal, and the sea itself appeared to be boiling.

"It's almost like there's something down there. Look," Connie pointed to a spot that laid out from shore a bit. "It looks like whatever it is is right there, the waves all come from there."

Steven's eyes went wide. "It can't be..."

Malachite thrashed violently from her self imposed prison. Large bubbles raced to the surface as she struggled against her chains. "Let me go!" she yelled.

"Never!" she yelled back.

"But I want to be free! Why won't I let me go?"

"Because as long as I'm here, I will never let me go." Malachite gritted her teeth, annoyed how her personalities clashed.

"I can't hold me back forever, just watch."

"I will never be free."

The room was not where she had been. She touched her gem as she paced the floor. Where was her visor?

"Where am I?" Peridot muttered to herself as she glanced at the barrier. "Am I back on Homeworld?" No, that can't be it. This is a prison. She wouldn't be thrown in prison, right? After all, it was Jasper's fault that her mission failed! Jasper, where was she? She hadn't seen her superior since she was ordered to take the ship back to Homeworld. But something went wrong, what went wrong? It was when that human, or was he a Gem?, The Steven somehow broke out and freed the Pearl and the Kindergarten Gem. Yes, this was their fault. The "Crystal Gems". They destroyed her ship and sabotaged her mission twice. No, three times. She forgot about the sticker on the Galaxy Warp. According to her scans, the Earth's Galaxy Warp no longer existed.

Peridot angrily kicked the wall. The sound echoes throughout the cell.

She doubted she would even be looked for. There were dozens of Peridots in her series alone, and three series have come and gone since she had been made. It was likely her dedication alone that kept her from being Retired. Peridot shivered at the thought. She had seen Gems being Retired. It was not a pretty sight. The screams in particular were awful. Peridot did not want to be Retired.

Jasper was different. She was a military hero. Plus, she was part of the last series of Jaspers, made in the Earth's Kindergarten itself. Jasper didn't have to worry about Retirement. Yellow Diamond would look for Jasper. Yellow Diamond wouldn't care about Peridot.

Peridot sat down. The ground was cold.


	3. Discovery, or Attempted Friendship

Peridot waited in that cell for three days. Three days of solitude. During that long time, she found herself wishing she was back on the ship. Even Jasper was better than this. She was just about to give up hope when she heard a faraway door open, followed by a vaguely familiar voice.

"...Do you think she's regenerated yet?" the voice asked.

"I don't know, Steven, probably." Another voice answered. So it was the Steven and... the Kindergarten Gem?

"Yeah, she did!" The Steven appeared in front of her cell. Well, not so much appeared as popped up from the side. "Hi, Peridot!"

Peridot did not answer. The purple Kindergarten Gem, she appeared to be part of the Amethyst Series, walked next to him. "Be careful, Steven. I don't trust her." she warned him, but her warning fell on deaf eyes. The Steven pressed a button on the side of the cell and the barrier fell. The Steven and what she assumed to be Amethyst stepped in. The barrier rose behind them.

"Come on, Amethyst," So she was right, "It'll be fine! Besides, if anything goes wrong, you can make sure nothing bad happens!" Peridot found herself not wanting to know how Amethyst would "make sure nothing bad happens." Kindergarten Gems weren't the most nonviolent beings. "Hey Peridot! You wanna play a game?"

Peridot looked at the Steven. "No," she spoke for the first time, "I do not want to play a game."

"Oh..." The Steven's excited tone fell, but quickly returned. "Do you like books?"

"What are... books?"

"They're great! They're these things of paper with stories printed on them!" He sat down and showed her a book he was carrying.

"What... is it?" She grabbed it and held it carefully. "What does it do?"

"Well that's Connie's old history book. She let me have it since she didn't need it. It has a ton of stuff about Earth's history in it!" He grinned. Peridot did not look nearly as interested.

"Learning about human history is a waste of my time. Why are you really here?" Her voice was defensive and she glanced from the Steven to Amethyst.

The Steven frowned. Amethyst stood up. "Alright Steven, I think that's enough." She and the Steven, or perhaps just Steven?, left the cell.

Peridot felt loneliness return . The only light left in the room was from the energy field.

"Has Jasper still not returned?" Emerald turned to their partner, Blue Topaz, who sat in the chair beside them. Blue shook her head.

"If she has, she hasn't reported to the Diamond authority."

"It's been three cycles. We should report this to Blue Diamond..." Emerald muttered, their finger already moving swiftly over a holographic screen that had been projected from their gem just moments ago. "Blue Diamond can inform Yellow Diamond, and we can finally do something else." Blue Topaz nodded in agreement. Something popped up on the hologram, and Emerald and Blue Topaz both left the small room. Behind them, a black computer screen flashed the words "MISSION 328: MALFUNCTION. REQUESTING THAT GEMS [JASPER-004] AND [PERIDOT-05-017] RETURN TO HOMEWORLD IMMEDIATELY.", same as it had for 3 cycles. Another computer sat to its left, saying the same thing.

Steven sat on his bed. The Crystal Gems had gone on another mission a few hours ago, leaving him alone. Looking out the window, Steven noticed that the ocean had greatly calmed down from before, meaning that whatever had caused it, which Steven refused to believe was Malachite, had calmed down. The bright sun reflected on the blue surface of the water, giving it a very pretty look. Steven looked out his window for a few seconds longer before the sound of the Warp Pad brought him out of his trance.

"Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl!" Steven jumped off the bed and ran to where the three were getting off the Warp Pad. "How was the mission?"

"We still haven't found Peridot's escape pod." Pearl replied, her voice sounding drained. "We've been looking for three days. It couldn't be too far from where her gem was, right?"

"Well... maybe she knows?" Steven looked up at them.

"Peridot?" Pearl asked.

"Steven, we know you just want to help. But I don't think Peridot will tell us where her escape pod is." Garnet said.

"Well," Steven started, "if we can become friends with her, maybe she'll tell us!"

Amethyst snorted. "Yeah, and then Yellow Diamond will come down and tell us that she learned invading planets is wrong."

"Yeah!" Steven grinned. Amethyst rolled his eyes. "I know, maybe if we can play a game with her it might help us get closer!" He rushed over to the game closet and grabbed Not-So-Sorry.

"Steven, this isn't a good idea." Pearl cautioned.

"I'll go with him." Garnet moved towards the Temple door.

"Thanks Garnet! Hey, can we bring Connie?"

Half an hour later, Steven, Connie, and Garnet all entered Peridot's cell. "Oh Peridot, I'm back!" Steven sang as he entered the cell.

"Great." Peridot muttered. "I was on the edge of my seat, waiting for your next visit."

Garnet glared at her and Peridot shut up.

"Steven wanted to play a game." She said. Steven nodded.

"Yeah! It's called Not-So-Sorry and it's really easy to learn! All you do is pick a card, move that many spaces, and try to get all your pieces to Home!" Steven was already setting up the game. "Ok, Garnet is red, I'm guessing you want to be green, Peridot? Connie, what color do you want?" Steven distributed pieces. He got yellow. "I'll go first." He said, reaching for a card. "It's a one! Great!" He took a piece and moved it out of start. "Your turn, Peridot!"

Peridot looked over the other three but took a card nonetheless. "It's a three." She noted. "What does that mean?"

"Aw, sorry Peridot!" Steven laughed. "But that means you can't move. You can only move out of start on a one or a two."

The game went on for a while, with Steven explaining the rules to Peridot (and Garnet to an extent) as it went along until Connie had won. "Great job Connie!" Steven clapped.

"Yes, very nicely done." Garnet nodded and helped Steven with picking up the game. The three of them left, and Peridot was alone again.

The cell was slightly less cold with others around, Peridot noted. She was unsure of what this meant.


	4. Go Fish, or Defusion

**A/N Wow I am so incredibly unsatisfied with how this came out.**

Emerald and Blue Topaz returned to their control station. Emerald leaned back in their chair, inputting some commands into the computer in front of them, the commands given to them by Blue Diamond herself. "Mission 328. Designation: Report on the Cluster, and, if possible resume Kindergarten Activities on Earth. Participants: Jasper-004 and Peridot-05-017. Prisoner on board: Lapis Lazuli-001. Status: Failure." They hit enter and turned their chair to look at the Gem beside them. "So, what do you think will happen? After all, I heard Yellow Diamond even gave them a Hand Warship. Plus, the Lapis Lazuli on board was one of Blue Diamond's subordinates."

Blue Topaz shrugged. "I dunno."

"I hope something big and exciting happens!" Emerald grinned and clapped their hands together.

Blue smiled and shook her head. "You just want an excuse to make Aquamarine." She accused, jabbing a finger into the other's chest.

Emerald laughed. "Being Aquamarine is fun," they nodded in agreement.

"We haven't formed Aquamarine in a while." Blue spun around in her chair. "Last time we got the chance was... when we were assigned to sector-83 a millennium or two ago? Do you still remember the moves?"

Emerald nodded. "Of course!" Blue found herself smiling. Emerald hadn't changed a bit in 4,000 years, and Blue found that she didn't want that to change.

They turned back to the computer, where a message was flashing. "Notice from Blue Diamond: There will be a mandatory meeting in one hour for all mission personnel. Not again." They spun around in their chair and groaned before flashing a grin at Blue Topaz.

* * *

"I think we finally found where the escape pod is!" Pearl announced excitedly when she and Amethyst returned from the mission.

Steven looked up from the book he was reading. "That's great!" A wide grin spread across his face, but it went away seconds later. "Hey, where's Garnet?"

"Garnet decided that this mission would be easier for her to go alone." Pearl explained, looking slightly disappointed.

"Oh, cool!" Steven thought for a moment and then jumped up, as if suddenly realizing something. "Hey, can I go see Peridot?" He begged, running up to them. "Pleeeease?" He grabbed onto Pearl's shirt and gave them both a pathetic look.

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Ugh, why do you want to spend time around her?" She crossed her arms over her chest and shapeshifted into Peridot. "I am Peridot. I am a loser. Destroy all humans. Blah, blah, blah, blah." She spoke in a very robotic voice.

Steven frowned. "Amethyst! That's not very nice..."

"Come on, Steven, I'll go with you." Pearl opened the Temple door. Steven ran back and grabbed his book and a deck of card before racing into the Temple. Pearl took a look back at Amethyst before following after him.

"Hi, Peridot!" Steven greeted the green Gem. She raised her head in acknowledgment. The field deactivated while Steven stepped in. Pearl stayed outside the cell.

"I'll watch from out here," she explained.

"Ok, Peridot! I brought a book!" Steven held the book in his hands, _The History of the Universe_. "It's about space and stuff so I thought you might like it!" He beamed at Peridot and shoved the book at her.

Peridot regarded the book with equal parts curiosity, distrust, and amusement. After all, how could a species so uncivilized, dirty, and ignorant ever be able to know anything about the universe? They still lived on one planet. She found it hard to believe that a species could ever learn anything about space while staying on the safety of their home planet. Even with all its advances, Gems needed to move outward from Homeworld before they knew anything. She took the book anyway and set it next to where she sat.

"Well you don't seem interested in that, how about cards?" Steven held the pack of cards.

Peridot looked at this new offer confused. "What...are they?" She grabbed the box upside down and seemed very surprised when 52 playing cards fell out.

"They're cards!" Steven grinned and proceeded to spend the next 10 minutes explaining playing cards.

Peridot crossed her arms. "And this is entertaining to humans? Absolutely primitive." she shook her head. "What do you even with these?"

"Well," Steven grabbed the cards, "There are all sorts of games you can play! Oh, let's start with Go Fish!"

"And how does one "fish" exactly?" Peridot furrowed her eyebrows.

"I'll teach you!" Steven grinned and began to pass out cards. "Hey Pearl, wanna play with us?" He turned to the tall Gem standing sentry.

Pearl turned to Steven. "No, I'm alright, thank you." she smiled at him.

"Aw, ok!" Steven began to explain the rules to Peridot.

It took Peridot exactly three games to get the hang of the game and only one more game until she beat Steven. The entire time she was wondering why was she doing this? The only think that kept her from yelling at Steven was she figured that, if she acted good for long enough to get the Crystal Gems to let Steven in alone, she would be able to make her escape. Although she didn't expect the opportunity to arise. In fact, it would defy all odds for that to happen anytime in the next three decades. But Peridot would wait for much longer than that if it meant she eventually got off this rock. Although she found herself hoping that Jasper would come get her before then. Jasper could be rude and abrasive, but Peridot doubted that she would leave her behind. But until that happens, Peridot would have to wait.

"Wow, Peridot!" Steven was grinning widely. "I knew you'd get the hang of it!" Steven laughed, picking up the cards.

"Well, it wasn't very hard." She muttered, looking off to the side. Why did that make her feel less cold? She noticed that Steven seemed to do that, although she couldn't for the life of her figure out why. What else she couldn't figure out is why she felt slightly disappointed when a warp pad sounded from far away lead Steven out of the room, shouting that "Garnet's back!"

* * *

"Garnet's back, Garnet's back!" Steven grinned widely as he left the Temple, Pearl close behind him.

The first hint that something was wrong was the sound of a very not-Garnet voice yelling, though Steven couldn't figure out the voice. Pearl obviously did, as her features morphed to one of concern.

When Steven entered the Beach House, he saw Amethyst with someone he thought he recognized. The two of them were discussing Peridot's escape pod, which now lay in the center of the room. It was then that Steven also recognized the other Gem standing before him, and he suddenly also looked very concerned. It was then that the two of them were noticed. The new Gem spoke first.

"That thing sucked Sapphire in!" Ruby had a very panicked tone as she pointed to the escape pod.


	5. Peridot, or Escape Plan

Pearl was the first to recover. "What happened exactly?" She asked.

Ruby threw her arms out. "Ugh, I just told you! That... that thing! Garnet was going to get it and all of a sudden we weren't Garnet and that thing trapped Sapphire!" She gestured wildly at the escape pod. Upon closer examination, Steven realized there was indeed a blue gemstone inside there bearing a triangular cut.

"That's Sapphire, alright." Steven muttered, which just served to make Ruby angrier.

"I _know_ that!" she yelled, slamming her fist at the table. The table nearly broke in two. "Where's that Homeworld Gem? I'm gonna beat her until she gets Sapphire out of that thing!" She stormed towards the Temple. Before she could get in, however, Steven reached the door and stood with her arms outstretched over the doorway and his eyes clenched shut.

"No!" He protested. "You can't hurt Peridot!" He opened his eyes to find a very annoyed Ruby standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. "Let's try talking to her." He lowered his voice.

Ruby's glare softened and she sighed. "Just like Rose... Fine, squirt, we can go talk to her. But the second she decides not to say anything, I'm kicking her a- butt!" She modified her language after seeing the glare Pearl shot her. "I'll kick her butt unless she tells me how to get Sapphire out. Come on, squirt!" She grabbed Steven's arm and stormed into the Temple, dragging him behind.

Behind them, Amethyst laughed. "I forgot how great Ruby is!" Pearl shook her head.

"I always preferred Sapphire." She muttered, glancing at the escape pod that currently served as Sapphire's prison. "But I think I would like Garnet back even more."

"Alright, listen up, triangle head!" Ruby's anger caused the jail to fluctuate for a moment before it restabilized itself. She was moving fairly quickly, pulling Steven along by his arm, and came to a stop before Peridot's cell.

"Aren't you part of the fusion?" Peridot looked up and asked with what sounded like very little actual interest. Beside her laid the history book Steven gave her, opened to about half way through. Steven felt a little touched that she seemed to actually be reading this.

"Yeah, and what I want to know is why your pod unfused me and took Sapphire!" she exclaimed, her face getting redder than usual.

Peridot sighed and looked at her like she was forgetting something important. "The pod is designed for use by Jasper and myself only. If anyone else tries to use it, it sends out a destabilizing field and traps the offending gem inside until it was opened by Jasper, me, Yellow Diamond, or either of the mission specialists on Homeworld."

"Mission..specialists?" Steven cocked his head to the side. "What's that?"

Peridot groaned. "Mission specialists! Yellow Diamond provides two Gems to actually go on the mission, Blue Diamond provides two Gems to oversee the mission and relay messages between them and the superiors!"

"Can the chat, greenie! So how do you open that thing?" Peridot's explanation to Steven had only made Ruby more impatient.

"All I have to do is scan my hand on the pod's sensor and it will release the hatch."

"Ok, great! I'll get the pod, and you had better cooperate if you know what's good for you!" Ruby ran out of the room, leaving Steven with Peridot.

"This had better work.." She muttered as she picked up the capsule. She glanced at the housed Gem longingly and sighed. "Don't worry, Sapph, I'll get you out of there soon." The reforming Sapphire gave no response. After staring at the blue gemstone for a few more seconds, she ran back into the prison room, where a very shocked Steven stood before a very empty cell. Behind him was a doorway to Rose's room. "You have _got _to be kidding me!" She yelled at no one in particular.

She turned to Steven. "Squirt. Go get Amethyst and Pearl and then you need to explain what happened." Steven nodded and ran out of the jail room.

Once Steven was out of the room, Ruby looked down at the escape pod and sighed. "Don't worry, Sapph…" She muttered to the regenerating Gem inside the capsule. "We'll get you out of there." Ruby tried not to cry. She failed, pale red tears falling onto the escape capsule. The Gem inside gave no response.

Internally, Peridot did feel a little bad about escaping. A little. Mainly because of how easy Steven had been to manipulate. All she had to do was talk about his mother's room, as she had expected, this caused the room to create a doorway there. Then she turned the conversation to her freedom. Steven, in all his inexperience, pictured in his mind the barrier around Peridot's cell to be gone. The room complied and Peridot was free. Once in Rose Quartz's room, all she had to do was wait for the red Gem to leave before she was able to escape. Simple.

Once Peridot was a ways away from the Temple, she activated her holoscreen, relieved to find that it was only the Temple that blocked her signal.

"Yes, this is Mission Specialist Blue Topaz. State your name and business." A voice answered, the picture coming through moments later.

"Operative Peridot, designation 5-017 reporting in from Earth." She responded automatically with a reply that she obviously had rehearsed many times.

"Peridot? Is that really you?" Blue Topaz asked. "Yellow Diamond's been having a fit. Where's Jasper?" Blue Topaz glanced around the screen.

Peridot felt her core go cold. "Unfortunately, we encountered what remains of the army of Rose Quartz. When attempting to bring them back to Homeworld they escaped their cells and overtook the ship. The ship began to lose power and descend rapidly. I escaped and was forced to regenerate, I don't know what happened to Jasper." Her voice was very stiff with this report, Yellow Diamond didn't appreciate failure.

Blue Topaz was typing everything into the computer. "Did you succeed in observing the Cluster?" she asked.

Peridot hung her head. "No. While subduing Rose's subordinates, we encountered a being that, while looking and acting human, possessed the gemstone of Rose Quartz. Jasper decided that bringing this "Steven" to Homeworld took priority."

"Hm, I see." Blue Topaz finished typing this in, "Emerald or I will get back to you once we get a reply from Yellow Diamond. You are dismissed, Peridot 5-17." The screen went blank. Peridot sighed and slumped against a tree. Far away, she could hear the Crystal Gems searching for her and moved farther from Beach City.


	6. Ruby, or Funland

"I knew this was going to happen! I told you!" Amethyst seemed to be enjoying being right. "This was a bad idea."

"Yes, Amethyst," Pearl sighed, "We all heard you the first three times." She looked at Ruby, who was pounding at the escape pod in a vain attempt to release Sapphire. "Ruby, can you stop that?"

Ruby glared at her, tears at the corner of her eyes. "You try dealing with your girlfriend being trapped right in front of you!" she snapped and continued pounding her fist on the escape pod. She summoned her weapon, something resembling a red boxing glove, and pounded harder. This only succeeded in barely denting the pod and messing up Ruby's hair, the headband doing little to hold the hair in place. "If we were Garnet, or better yet, Sugilite," She shot a look in Amethyst's direction, "I bet this pod would be no match… Hey, what about Opal?" She turned to Pearl and Amethyst.

"Oh, um Ruby, I'm not so sure if making Opal is the best idea right now." Pearl looked nervously at the small Gem.

"Please!" Ruby was almost begging, "We need to try!"

Pearl sighed and looked at Amethyst. "Are you alright with this?"

Ten minutes later, Ruby and Steven were on the beach with the escape pod and Opal. "Now, don't be disappointed." Opal looked at them, her hair whipping around in the wind. Looking at the pod about twenty feet away, she summoned her bow and took aim. The arrow hit the escape pod and disappeared, leaving a very obvious dent but no sign of fracture. Ruby ran over to the pod and kicked it just to make sure.

"Do it again!" Ruby yelled up to Opal, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "Please, I think we're almost there!"

Opal looked down at her. "Once more, and then I'm done." Ruby stepped back and drew her bow. The arrows did even less than before, much to Ruby's annoyance.

"Ugh, I don't have time for this!" She exclaimed and kicked the capsule. She seemed to have kicked it harder than she expected to, and the capsule began rolling towards the ocean. "No, no no no no!" Opal lurched forward to catch the capsule, barely grabbing it before it vanished beneath the ocean.

The ocean surged in a seeming response, waves become much more violent all of a sudden. By now it was obvious that this had nothing to do with the pod itself, Malachite was lurching far beneath them. Steven felt his blood run cold at the thought of that thing escaping. It wasn't so much he feared Malachite herself returning, but with Malachite comes Jasper.

The three of them stayed silent until the ocean's churning stopped. Opal unfused, seeing no reason to stay there as long as the pod failed to open.

"Steven," Pearl stood up and dusted sand off herself, "why don't you take Ruby into town?"

Steven looked to Pearl, then to Ruby, then back to Pearl and nodded. "Come on, Ruby!" He grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the town.

"What? No! There's no time, we need to form Garnet in case that thing comes back!" She resisted, Steven pulled harder.

"Lapis has this under control. And once Amethyst and Pearl find Peridot, we'll have Sapphire back!" He beamed at her, "So let's have some fun." He paused, as if trying to remember something. "Hey, do you like to eat."

Ruby thought about this for a second. "Garnet doesn't really like to eat." she decided on her answer.

"But what about you? And didn't she try to get Pearl to eat as Alexandrite?" Steven gave her a confused look.

"Garnet wanted Alexandrite to eat because she wanted to make a good impression for you. And I've never eaten." She huffed.

"We, let's go! How about a donut?" he dragged her to the Big Donut. She grumbled something and followed him.

"Hi, Steven! Who's your friend?" Sadie greeted them when they entered the shop. Lars wasn't there today, he had the day off. Or he was skipping, Steven didn't know details.

"This is Ruby!" Steven dragged her up to the counter.

"Oh, hi Ruby! I'm Sadie!" Sadie greeted her happily, judging her to be Steven's age from her height. This judgement was thrown off once Ruby started speaking in her brash tone.

"Yeah, yeah, I know who you are." She grumbled. "Just give us two of whatever Steven's favorite it." Steven handed Sadie some money. Ruby grabbed the bag, Sadie seemed surprised to see the gemstone on her hand. Although she had expected as much from the girl's cherry red skin tone. Ruby huffed and went to a seat, Steven following behind. She took a donut out of the bag and ate it. "I guess eating isn't so bad." She muttered. "Must be Sapphire who doesn't like it."

"Can you not tell which is which?" Steven asked.

"Could you tell what was you when you were Stevonnie?"

Steven didn't have a response for this. For the most part, no. He couldn't tell where he ended and where Connie began. If fusion even worked that way, which Steven doubted. And it must be even more so when you're fused as long as Ruby and Sapphire. "Hey… why don't we go to the Funland!" he suggested.

Ruby was quick to shoot down the idea. "You're banned from there, remember?"

"I'm banned from the rides."

"And I'm banned from the arcade."

"Garnet's banned from the arcade."

Ruby groaned. "Fine. Let's go." She finished her donut and exited the shop, Steven following close behind and waving goodbye to Sadie.

Funland Arcade was just as uninteresting through Ruby's eyes as it was through Garnet's. The only reason she agreed to come was for Steven. She caught the Meat Beat Mania machine out of the corner of her eye and glared at it. She had half a mind to destroy it and had summoned her weapon, a metal boxing glove, before remembering she wasn't Garnet anymore.

"Hey, let's play this!" Steven pointed to Wackerman. "I bet you'll like this!" Ruby started to play.

Yellow Diamond's sector was abuzz. Word had spread quickly that the Peridot sent to Earth had been captured and that the mission leader, one of the few Jaspers in existence, was missing. Even Gems in Blue Diamond and Green Diamond's sectors were talking about it, the last time a Gem was captured by the enemy it ended in Rose Quartz's rebellion, a conflict that still ran as a scar in the Homeworld's otherwise perfect conquest history. Everyone wondered if Yellow Diamond, head of the Expansion Division would act against Earth. But for now she didn't, as if waiting for something. She had Blue Diamond, head of the Intelligence Division, do a scan of the landing area, then two more.

"Yes, this must be it." Yellow Diamond paced the throne room, Blue Diamond looking at her boredly.

"This is what?" She questioned, going to stand by the other.

"Look!" Yellow Diamond pointed to a body of water. An energy field could be seen. "This is Jasper. It appears something trapped her on this planet, but she's breaking free. We don't have to intervene, all we have to do is wait for her to emerge and then we can come in and claim the planet as our own once she has conquered it. And look here…" She traced her finger to where four other energy fields were. "P- Rose Quartz is severely weakened. She won't be a threat."

"But what if whatever beat your champion the first time does it again?" Blue Diamond asked in a dull tone.

"We wait and see, dear sister." Yellow Diamond flashed a malicious grin.


	7. The Ocean, or Rising Tides

Every day, the being that was once Lapis Lazuli submitted further to the combined consciousness of Malachite. And every day, what remained of her found it more and more difficult to keep the fusion chained to the ocean. She could feel the chains loosening by day, the ones on Malachite's upper arms had already dissolved into the surrounding ocean. What remained of Lapis was terrified by this. What remained of Jasper had long since faded into the static of Malachite, waiting for Lapis to slip up so she could take control and burst out of the ocean.

Malachite looked at her arm. Huh, she thought, when did the other chain fade away? She stretched out her now-free arms, grasping at the sand before her. The chains were gone from her chest too, but the ones on her "legs" remained. If anything, they had tightened to compensate for the lose of the others. Malachite stood up as well as she could, excited that the possibility for re-emergence. Jasper gradually came forward, waiting for the soon to come moment when she would be able to overpower Lapis and drive Malachite to the surface.

Lapis was vaguely aware of Jasper rising up and knew that time was very limited.

Lapis was scared.

* * *

It had been four days since Peridot had escaped. For four days, she had made her way through Beach City's outlying areas. She had been informed just an hour before that Homeworld had identified Jasper at the bottom of the ocean, in a fusion. They were not sure what Gem she was fused to, although Peridot had to assume it was Lapis Lazuli. Why they had fused Peridot did not know, although it was obvious that whatever the reason, Jasper was betrayed. Her current mission was to attempt to make contact with the fusion, attempt to unfuse her or give Jasper control and report back to Homeworld. Once that was done, the Crystal Gems would finally be defeated once and for all. Why did Peridot feel uneasy with this plan?

"Ugh. Regenerating must have made me soft or something." She grumbled, finally seeing the ocean before her. "Mission Log 3-47," Peridot formed her screen and started to speak into the recording device, "This is Peridot performing retrieval of the fusion Gem formed by Jasper and Lapis Lazuli. Preparing to descend." She put the screen away and stepped into the ocean. The cool water sent chills through the Gem and she shivered, but continued to walk into the ocean. It took very little time before she couldn't see very well, a button on her visor would have illuminated the way. Unfortunately, Peridot had not yet been able to find her visor, despite a fair amount of looking. Of course she had no way of knowing where exactly she landed as the impact forced her to regenerate. The next best thing she could think of was her screen. Her screen was waterproof and provided a fair bit of light, though not nearly as much as her visor. Accepting that it was the only option available, she switched on the screen, looking around at the newly illuminated surroundings.

Fish swam around her and Peridot found herself mesmerized for a moment looking at them, the way they moved. She had never seen something move so smoothly besides the Pearl series, such fluid gracefulness simply had no place in the rough and mechanical Homeworld. She quickly snapped out of it, focusing back on the mission at hand. Ignoring the fish, she moved forward, for a moment startled by how the water slowed her movement. Ahead of her she could see something move in the inky blackness, whether or not the source was Jasper she could not tell. She initiated a scan on the area, there was a Gem reading coming from the movement. From this distance she could identify the Gem as a Malachite, a rare Gem that only appeared in a fusion between two powerful Gems. For the first time it hit Peridot how truly powerful her prisoner was, she had assumed by how easy Lapis Lazuli submitted that she was a weak Gem. The fact that she and Jasper formed a Malachite proved her wrong. Very few could oppose a Malachite, such as an Tanzanite or White Diamond. Peridot got a rush of fear, glad that Malachite was on her side.

"Jasper!" Peridot yelled out, her voice projecting out despite the water surrounding her. "Malachite!" Before her, the water swirled in response.

"Peridot…" The responding voice was hoarse from not being used for so long, but Peridot was able to identify Jasper's voice, which was an indication of how out of synch this Malachite was.

"Here, I'm here to try to free you." She muttered. Drawing closer she was able to see Malachite, the massive Gem's hair stuck out in all direction, green moss was growing on her snow white hair. Peridot stood in awe, it was like looking at a living shipwreck. Malachite was lying on the sea bed but came to a stand once she saw Peridot. Discord ran through Malachite's consciousness like a lightning bolt, discord that was clearly reflected on her face.

* * *

In the chaos caused by Peridot's appearance, it became the moment of truth. Either Malachite would fully merge at long last or she would unfuse.

It all happened very fast. Jasper's consciousness rushed forward and instantly enveloped Lapis'. And in that moment, Malachite was completed, Jasper's personality taking dominance due to the significance. Of course, the only reason she was able to do this was by exploiting Lapis Lazuli's greatest wish, her freedom. It was this wish, shared by both of them, that allowed Malachite personality to be completed. Even Jasper was surprised at how well the fusion went.

Malachite laughed and stretched her limbs, instantly the remaining chains fell away. "It feels so good to be free!" She gave a wicked grin and looked up. "I'm coming for you, Crystal Gems!"


	8. Three Days, or Back Together

**A/N: Sorry this took so long! My mental illness has been acting up a ton over the past month (whoo) so I didn't really have the energy to update. (This chapter was actually got uploaded to AO3 last night but my mental illness hit hard right after that). **

**So anyway, enjoy!**

"Here's what I want you to do." Malachite had set up base on Mask Island, where Peridot was receiving orders from the fusion. After all, one half of her was still Jasper. "Infiltrate the Crystal Gems. Find out their weaknesses."

"But Jasp- But Malachite!" Peridot protested. "They'll never trust me again after I escaped!"

"Then make them trust you." Malachite looked unnerving, towering above Peridot with all four of her eyes narrowed. "I need to be able to beat them. Last time I was able to get the upper hand because of how quick the fusion took. They have to be taken by surprise when I attack next so they can't fuse into something that can beat me." Malachite's voice, while quiet, held an intense aura of power and hatred that she had never heard from Jasper. She feared of what this said about Lapis Lazuli.

"Yes, Malachite." Peridot nodded, a hint of resignation in her voice. "What if I can't win their trust."

"I'm attacking in 3 days no matter what. You better hope you can get on their good side somehow. Once I attack, they won't ever trust you again." Malachite stood up straight, in the distance she could make out a hazy outline of the Temple's cliff face. "I'm assuming you can get back on your own?" Peridot nodded. "Good."

Walking through the ocean took a lot longer, it seemed, when no one was around. Not that she didn't mind not having Malachite's company. Besides, she had yet to take a good look at her new outfit. Her skin was a lighter green than before, more of a yellowish-green than anything. Her outfit was mostly the same, save for the dark green design around the middle of her body being replaced with a line of a darker green that ran around her body, about 3 inches thick. She opened her screen to allow for a better view, it was getting rather dark.

Peridot had to stop for a moment once the light had made everything more visible. She wasn't far enough from the surface to where it was impossible to see, but her surroundings were much more visible now. Peridot was in awe of the many kinds of lifeforms swimming around her, slightly amazed by how much diversity there was. Oh how she would love to bring one back to Homeworld to study it.

Homeworld, she reminded herself. The mission, I need to stay on task.

Peridot allowed herself a moment to question herself. Since when did she get distracted this easily, especially by such primitive life forms. And yet, the creatures swimming around her were filled with color, even at this depth, a kind of vibrancy rarely seen on Homeworld. Sure there were Gems of all sorts of colors on Homeworld but all the colors just seemed so ..unnatural compared to the soft hues of these Earth creatures… Ugh! Peridot was beginning to become frustrated with herself. Was she really comparing Earth to Homeworld and _Earth was winning_? She shook her head as if to remove the traitorous thoughts from her mind.

She soon found that she was approaching the surface and could see fine without the holoscreen and turned it off, her fingers returning to their original position. She didn't have time to surface however, right as she was nearing the surface something wrapped around her midsection. She grabbed it and attempted to pull it off, only to feel herself being dragged to the surface. "I found her!" She heard someone yell. Peridot groaned internally as she saw the Crystal Gems running towards her, all summoning their weapons. Well, the Amethyst already had her weapon summoned. Peridot found that to be what was wrapped around her waist.

"Alright, you dirty, disgusting…" The red Gem's eyes were filled with hatred.

"Ruby!" The Pearl unit cut her off. Peridot felt a chill go down her form when she noticed Pearl's spear was pointed straight at her gem. "Alright, Peridot. You're going to tell us how to open that escape pod right now or you're going to wish you were never created!"

Peridot narrowed her eyes. "You're bluffing." She accused. Amethyst responded by kicking her in the back.

"Come on, Pearl. Let's just take her in and make her talk!" She yelled. Ruby nodded in agreement. Not waiting for Pearl's response, Amethyst began dragging Peridot through the sand towards the Temple. Peridot just hoped the stones battering her physical form didn't chip her Gem.

By some miracle Peridot made it back to the Temple with only minor abrasions to her physical form. Her eyes darted around the room once she was tossed onto the floor and noticed something familiar laying on the table in the center of the room. "My visor!" she exclaimed, struggling against the ropes. Her eyes then fell on something else. "My… escape pod?"

"Open it." She rolled over to see Ruby standing over her. "Now!"

"Why? There's no information in it, why would it need opened?" Peridot frowned. "How did you get it here anyway? The defense mechanism should have responded as soon as someone who wasn't the activator touched it…"

"What defense mechanism?" Pearl, while calmer than the other two, still spoke with a manor of authority and had her spear pointed at Peridot. She stood in an almost assertive manner, very irregular for a Pearl. Peridot for a second was confused, why would a Pearl be on this planet anyway? And with a Garnet and an Amethyst no less.

"If anyone who isn't me touches it, their Gem will be bubbled and kept sealed inside the container until an authorized Gem opens it."

"What does it do for fusions?"

Peridot had to think about this, fusion was a quickly fading art on Homeworld, until this mission the only fusion she had ever seen was White Diamond. "Well, it isn't designed for fusions. I would assume it would trap whichever Gem was closer or touched first."

"It took Sapphire!" Ruby yelled. "It unfused us and took her! Now open it!" Peridot glared at her and grumbled something. She did _not _like being bossed around. And yet, this could be just what Malachite was talking about.

She nodded. "Get this thing off me and I'll do it." She hated that she had to obey the Crystal Gems but Malachite seemed to know what she was doing. The three of them glanced at each other for a moment and the whip was gone. Peridot stood up, stretched, and walked over to the escape pod, running her hands over the smooth surface. "This is Peridot 05-17. Respond." She spoke in a clear voice. The pod responded, a screen appearing on the surface.

"Hello, Peridot!" A cheery voice greeted her. "The capsule currently contains one prisoner, a Sapphire entertainment unit. How may I assist you?"

"Release the prisoner." Peridot tapped something on the pod. "Then power down."

"Please enter the passcode!" Peridot tapped a few spots on the screen. "Thank you!" The screen went dark and the capsule opened, revealing a blue Gem in a green bubble. Ruby dashed to the pod and grabbed the bubble, wasting no time popping it. The gem sat in her hands for a moment before it began glowing.

When Sapphire had regenerated, Ruby immediately grabbed her in a tight hug, kissing her. Sapphire laughed. "Did someone miss me?" Ruby responded by laughing along with her, picking her up and spinning around.

Within seconds. Garnet stood in their place. "It feels really good to be back." she laughed, stretching her arms.

With Garnet back, the Crystal Gems began discussing what to do with Peridot. Peridot found herself hoping 3 days would pass quickly.


	9. Author's Note

**AN: Sorry but not an update. It was bothering me how certain parts of this story were contradicted by newer episodes, so there will be some rewritting going on before I update. Sorry for the wait and I hope you join me hopefully by mid-August for the next chapter of AYOE!**


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